Should billionaires pay taxes at a lower rate than the rest of us?

[asterism]

Who has more to protect? The guy living in a 2 million dollar home or the guy living in a $200,000 home?

Shouldn't the guy with MORE to protect, PAY MORE?

Flat taxes are a wet-dream for the rich and STUPID people who aren't good at math.

The protection for my home is provided by the local police and fire departments. They are funded by property tax which is based on the value of my home. Therefore I am paying more than my neighbors across the street.

 

[MeBelle]

WASHINGTON, D.C.--The 400 highest-earning taxpayers in the U.S. reported a record $105 billion in total adjusted gross income in 2006, but they paid just $18 billion in tax, new Internal Revenue Service figures show. That works out to an average federal income tax bite of 17%--the lowest rate paid by the richest 400 during the 15-year period covered by the IRS statistics. The average federal tax bite on the top 400 was 30% in 1995 and 23% in 2002.

Richest 400 Earn More, Pay Lower Tax Rate - Forbes.com

Chris, you really need to read your source.
The 'rich' (a married couple earning over $250K a year, per our CIC) pays what % in taxes?
The ultra wealthy have already paid the higher % on their earned income. They pay a lower % on capital gains (investments).
The current top rate on long-term capital gains is 15%, and the top rate on ordinary (earned) income such as interest and salary is 35%.

I know you are smart enough to understand the differences.

Why would anyone in their right mind want to pay the earned income tax rate on money that was already earned??

You do realize that the vast majority of wealthy do not take their earnings as earned income, but rather work things in such a way that the money is converted into long term capital gains, right?

Uh...I believe that's exactly what I said.

 

[sgeppy118]

Fifty percent of you leeches pay ZERO federal income tax. how much lower can ya get?

Leeches. Really. The numbers speak for themselves. The rich have been able to manipulate the people for long enough. When you have some of the wealthiest and intelligent Americans like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet come forward and say I don't pay enough in taxes, that's enough proof for me. And this country has continuously earned EVERYTHING it has achieved. Even now we have our "LEECHES" as you call them, in countries they don't belong fighting wars to pad the wallets of the WEALTHY.

You should seriously take a step back and reassess. America is proud, and the middle class is America.

It does not negate the fact that 50% of Americans pay ZERO in federal income tax now does it? Yet they leech off the system the other 50% pay into to and you want to conduct class warfare saying the 50% aren't paying enough. It's time for you to get real.

Please explain why many wealthy Americans say they don't pay their fair share in taxes? That seems confusing to me?

The reason is simple there are ways around taxes, and they are constantly exploited as any semi-intelligent person knows. Don't throw numbers around like you know something when you don't. You're just propagating lies. The middle is America, not the 1%. If you want to see class warfare, watch as the earnings gap continues to diverge as it has for so long. People are not stupid, NO ONE works a million or a billion times harder than anyone else.

 

[Chris]

This is the graph I was talking about, Chris.


can you please tell me what happens to that line after Jan. 20, 2008??

Then I'll tell you where your pet 'occupiers' should be camping out

You are right. They should be camping out at John Boehner's house.

Obama tried to let the Bush tax cuts on those making over 250K a year expire, but the Republicans blocked it.

The truth of the matter is that the reason the rich pay taxes at such a low rate is that Reagan and Bush W. lowered taxes for the rich, thus creating this incredible disparity in income distribution in America.

 

[hortysir]

This is the graph I was talking about, Chris.


can you please tell me what happens to that line after Jan. 20, 2008??

Then I'll tell you where your pet 'occupiers' should be camping out

You are right. They should be camping out at John Boehner's house.

Obama tried to let the Bush tax cuts on those making over 250K a year expire, but the Republicans blocked it.

The truth of the matter is that the reason the rich pay taxes at such a low rate is that Reagan and Bush W. lowered taxes for the rich, thus creating this incredible disparity in income distribution in America.

Still no mention of Clinton or Obama (with a Dem-majority), huh?

Yea, blame the Boner.
Wrong dick, though

 

[Defiant1]

Leeches. Really. The numbers speak for themselves. The rich have been able to manipulate the people for long enough. When you have some of the wealthiest and intelligent Americans like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet come forward and say I don't pay enough in taxes, that's enough proof for me. And this country has continuously earned EVERYTHING it has achieved. Even now we have our "LEECHES" as you call them, in countries they don't belong fighting wars to pad the wallets of the WEALTHY.

You should seriously take a step back and reassess. America is proud, and the middle class is America.

It does not negate the fact that 50% of Americans pay ZERO in federal income tax now does it? Yet they leech off the system the other 50% pay into to and you want to conduct class warfare saying the 50% aren't paying enough. It's time for you to get real.

Please explain why many wealthy Americans say they don't pay their fair share in taxes? That seems confusing to me?

The reason is simple there are ways around taxes, and they are constantly exploited as any semi-intelligent person knows. Don't throw numbers around like you know something when you don't. You're just propagating lies. The middle is America, not the 1%. If you want to see class warfare, watch as the earnings gap continues to diverge as it has for so long. People are not stupid, NO ONE works a million or a billion times harder than anyone else.

Maybe not, but their work is worth a million or a billion more.

 

[peach174]

This is the graph I was talking about, Chris.


can you please tell me what happens to that line after Jan. 20, 2008??

Then I'll tell you where your pet 'occupiers' should be camping out

You are right. They should be camping out at John Boehner's house.

Obama tried to let the Bush tax cuts on those making over 250K a year expire, but the Republicans blocked it.

The truth of the matter is that the reason the rich pay taxes at such a low rate is that Reagan and Bush W. lowered taxes for the rich, thus creating this incredible disparity in income distribution in America.

Under Regan;
The richest of the rich -- the top 1 percent of American families -- reaped 70 percent of the growth in average family incomes in the late 1970's and the 1980's, Congressional Budget Office data show. But according to a Federal Reserve Board governor, Lawrence B. Lindsey, the top 1 percent of families also shouldered a bigger share of the American tax burden, lightening the load for everyone else.

Allowing for inflation, all American families together paid $45.2 billion more in Federal income taxes in 1988 than they did in 1981, Mr. Lindsey said. In that same period, however, the income taxes of the top 1 percent, families with incomes averaging $310,000, rose by even more -- $50.2 billion.

In short, the top 1 percent paid the entire increase in tax payments -- and then some. The not-so-rich, it turns out, got a $5 billion tax cut.

During Bush Jr. haven’t the tax cuts put more of the burden on the backs of the middle class and the poor?

No. When you examine the Treasury Department analysis of how much the rich would have paid without the Bush tax cuts and how much they actually did pay. The rich are now paying more than they would have paid, not less, after the Bush investment tax cuts. For example, the Treasury’s estimate was that the top 1 percent of earners would pay 31 percent of taxes if the Bush cuts did not go into effect; with the cuts, they actually paid 37 per*cent. Similarly, the share of the top 10 percent of earners was estimated at 63 percent without the cuts; they actually paid 68 percent.

 

[Wiseacre]

Liberals live in a fantasy world where all you gotta do is take money from rich people and give it to poor people and our problems are over. Demand goes up and everyone's happy, except for the rich people presumeably. More jobs are magically created and economy growth just mushrooms, the debt and deficits disappear and we can cover all our future financial liabilities. No need to worry, the rich people will provide.

Except of course this vision is disconnected from reality. You know why the miilionaires and billionaires pay a lower tax rate? It's cuz the capital gains tax is only 15%, as opposed to the top income tax rate of 35%. And why is it only 15%? Because the gov't wants to incentivize investments in US business.

So what happens if we count capital gains the same as ordinary income, and tax it at 35%? Or raise it to exceed 45%, as Obama wants to do with the implementation of ObamaCare and the lapse of the Bush tax cuts? The answer should be obvious: less investment in US businesses, a lot less. Why? Cuz there's a lot of other places around the world today where the rich guys can put their money and not get hammered by the tax rates here. Or they put most of it into tax shelters of some kind.

And then there's the question of foreign investors that used to invest in US businesses but don't any more. They ain't going to come back here with their money if there are other places where they can get a higher rate of return on their investments.

History bears this out, when you raise taxes you curtail economic growth most of the time. It's one thing to do it when the economy is booming, like Clinton did in the 90s. It's another to do it now and risk another downturn. Especially the capital gains tax, there's a reason why the amount of money invested nationally is included in the computation for GDP.

So here's the real question: do you want to raise taxes on the rich in the interests of fairness or do you want to grow the economy and create more jobs? Something's gotta be your top prioritiy, which is it?

 

[Avatar4321]

I don't need money from rich people or anyone else. Ill trust in God and work hard and everything will work out.

 

[Chris]

I don't need money from rich people or anyone else. Ill trust in God and work hard and everything will work out.

Should billionaires pay taxes at a lower rate than the rest of us?

 

[healthmyths]

I don't need money from rich people or anyone else. Ill trust in God and work hard and everything will work out.

Should billionaires pay taxes at a lower rate than the rest of us?

If billionaires are part of the IRS statistics for 2009..

There were 8,274 tax returns that reported incomes over $10 million.
The rest of us, 140 million reported incomes UNDER $10 million!

Those 8,274 over $10 million paid 26.3% of their income in taxes.
The rest of us 140 million paid 17.4%

GEEZ.. will ANYONE admit that the 8,274 tax returns paid a larger % of their income in taxes?? ANYONE have the GUTS to admit this FACT?

You idiots that GUESS.. DOWN load this file from the IRS and
you will find exactly what tax revenues were paid by what income level!


STRAIGHT from the IRS web site:
SOI Tax Stats - Individual Statistical Tables by Size of Adjusted Gross Income

 

[Rozman]

What killed me is the way the media handled the story about how
Warren Buffet's secretary pays more in taxes then Warren Buffet.
She pays a higher percentage based on income then he does on capital gains.
Extremely disingenuous.And the media went on and on about this forever.

 

[Chris]

What killed me is the way the media handled the story about how
Warren Buffet's secretary pays more in taxes then Warren Buffet.
She pays a higher percentage based on income then he does on capital gains.
Extremely disingenuous.And the media went on and on about this forever.

As well they should.

Should billionaires pay taxes at a lower rate than the rest of us?

 

[kwc57]

WASHINGTON, D.C.--The 400 highest-earning taxpayers in the U.S. reported a record $105 billion in total adjusted gross income in 2006, but they paid just $18 billion in tax, new Internal Revenue Service figures show. That works out to an average federal income tax bite of 17%--the lowest rate paid by the richest 400 during the 15-year period covered by the IRS statistics. The average federal tax bite on the top 400 was 30% in 1995 and 23% in 2002.

Richest 400 Earn More, Pay Lower Tax Rate - Forbes.com

Chris, you really need to read your source.
The 'rich' (a married couple earning over $250K a year, per our CIC) pays what % in taxes?
The ultra wealthy have already paid the higher % on their earned income. They pay a lower % on capital gains (investments).
The current top rate on long-term capital gains is 15%, and the top rate on ordinary (earned) income such as interest and salary is 35%.

I know you are smart enough to understand the differences.

Why would anyone in their right mind want to pay the earned income tax rate on money that was already earned??

You're going to make Chris's head hurt.

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